A number of mobile payment systems have been developed in which a mobile device can be used to pay for goods or services at a payment terminal. In some systems, the mobile device does not communicate directly with the payment terminal. Rather, the transaction is conducted between a mobile device payment infrastructure and a merchant payment infrastructure (e.g., cloud-to-cloud). Integrating these complex and widely-divergent infrastructures, however, can often be cost-prohibitive.
Other systems involve direct communication between the mobile device and the payment terminal. In such systems, sensitive user data such as payment and loyalty information is transmitted as cleartext, raising a number of security issues. For example, the sensitive user data can be intercepted by unscrupulous third parties. This can be of particular concern in fueling environments, where the payment terminal is often disposed in an unmanned, outdoor setting where there is an elevated risk of snooping or tampering. Users can be discouraged from using such systems for fear that the payment terminal may have been compromised.
Many existing mobile payment systems also require user interaction with the mobile device before, during, or after a transaction. For example, the user must retrieve the mobile device and launch a digital wallet application or otherwise interact with software executed on the mobile device to begin a transaction. The user must also hold the mobile device up to the payment terminal to place the mobile device in close proximity to the payment terminal.
Existing mobile payment systems can thus be unsecure and cumbersome or time consuming for the user, and a need exists for improved mobile payment systems.